


melancholy summers

by itisjosh



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abandonment, Adopted Children, Adoptive Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Crying, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, POV Multiple, Past Abuse, Politics, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, Reconciliation, Reunions, Time Skips, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29079261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itisjosh/pseuds/itisjosh
Summary: A story told from five different people after L'manberg is destroyed
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 74





	melancholy summers

As soon as Phil steps through the portal, he hears his name being called out. Phil laughs when he feels arms wrapped around his waist, carefully folding his wings back so he doesn't accidentally hit the person hugging him. He looks past the man's shoulder, smiling to himself as he hugs Wilbur back. "You came!" Wilbur laughs, pulling back, keeping his hands on Phil's shoulders. "I didn't think that you'd actually come! I mean, you know, I know it's hard for you to leave your world, and it's complicated to travel in between worlds and all that, so I'm not _blaming_ you by any means, I'm just s-"

"Will," he laughs, patting his son's hands. "Shut up for three seconds, oh my god," Phil grins, scanning the man up and down. He still has his uniform on, torn and ragged and broken to some degree. It's fraying at the edges, evidence of burns clear on the dark blue. It's laced with gold, white ruffles at the front of the uniform. Phil smiles at his son, feeling his heart rate finally go back down. He feels significantly less dizzy than he had only a few seconds ago, quietly pleased that he isn't nearly as off-put by the portal as he was the first time. The first time, he nearly fell on his ass and nearly threw up right after. "Of course I came, Will. You're my son, you asked me to. Why wouldn't I?" 

Wilbur beams at him, his eyes already shining with unshed tears. Out of all of his children, Wilbur has always been the most emotional. He's never been afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve and it shows, and although Phil has warned him about letting himself get hurt, Wilbur never listened to him. Which really was just another one of his shining qualities, one of the things that made him so unbelievably unique. His stubbornness was a force to be reckoned with, and if Phil is understanding everything correctly, it still is. "I know, I just.." Wilbur sighs, reaching up to run his hands through his hair, closing his eyes for a few seconds. "I'm really surprised, Phil. But in the good way, obviously," Wilbur grins. "I'm assuming that you heard. Did you, did you hear, Phil? The news?" 

Phil smiles, leaning back on his heels, letting his wings splay out again. It's uncomfortable to have to keep them folded for too long. "What," Phil grins, quirking an eyebrow. "That we won?" Wilbur's face immediately lights up even more, somehow becoming brighter than the entirety of the sun. Wilbur laughs, his eyes shining, and then he's crying. Phil laughs, pulling his son closer, squeezing him into a hug. "You did so fuckin' well, Will! Look at this place!" Phil gestures around, throwing out his arms to motion to the walled nation. "I'm proud of you, Will. I'm really proud of you. I always knew that you'd be able to do this, especially from the beginning when you started to write to me. What's this place called, again? What did you name it?" Wilbur opens his mouth, going to give Phil a name he thinks that he should remember, and-

" _Phil?_ Holy fuckin' shit, Phil! Phil! Wilbur, you didn't tell me that _dad_ was coming over, holy _fuck!_ " Tommy's laugh echoes in his ears, and soon enough, there's another pair of arms wrapped around him. Tommy laughs right into his ear, rambling on and on about discs and a duel and getting shot, and-

_Getting shot?_

Phil pauses, flapping his wings so he flies up into the air. Wilbur and Tommy let go of him immediately, and Phil glares down at the both of him before he settles again, folding his wings when his feet touch the earth again. "Will," he crosses his arms, staring at his son. "Did you let your brother die on a fucking _duel?_ " Wilbur has the decency to look guilty, even though Tommy is laughing so hard Phil thinks that he genuinely might die from lack of oxygen. "When I said you could take Tommy here, I didn't expect you to fuckin'..let him duel people!" Phil sighs, running a hand through his hair, positive that they're already going grey from the amount of stress his kids fucking put him under. "Tommy, did you, like.." he pauses, sighing again as he presses his fingers to his temple. "Was it, like, a willing thing? Did you _willingly_ go into a duel?"

Tommy grins at him. "Yeah, and I fuckin' _won_." Wilbur laughs, throwing his head back, clapping his hands together. Phil watches as Wilbur grins at Tommy, who just scowls at him, flipping him off with both hands. 

"You got shot," Wilbur corrects. "Phil, I really.." he breathes out, closing his eyes. "I feel like this is a very bad time to tell you anything that happened about the war. So," Wilbur beams, faking his best smile. Phil sees right through it, he always does. He had to learn Wilbur's expressions and tones early, considering how Wilbur was always trying to get his way by sweetening his words and fake crying. "This is L'manberg!" Wilbur booms, throwing out his arms as he steps back, grinning like a mad man. "Welcome to L'manberg, a place were men have gone to emancipate from the tyranny of their leaders!" His voice pitches up at the end, as if he's singing a melody. Tommy rolls his eyes, shoving Wilbur to the side. 

"Shut the fuck up about the anthem for two seconds, Christ," Tommy grins, jutting out his chest. His uniform looks even worse than Wilbur's, and Phil has to wonder how much fighting that Tommy had to deal with. "I basically got us our Independence, no big deal," Tommy laughs, crossing his arms against his chest. "Got shot and died for this fuckin' nation, and then I managed to save it when everything was looking bad for us," Tommy explains, very casually. "It's been a..wild ride, that's for sure. Bet we would've won if we had a pair of wings helping us out." 

Phil blinks. "You fought in the war. Actively. You got shot and you fucking _died?_ " He closes his eyes, breathing out through his nose. "Will, what did I specifically tell you to _not_ let him do when you two left home?" Wilbur breathes out, looking incredibly guilty. Wilbur looks down at his feet, shifting from side to side, not saying anything for a few seconds.

"To, um, to not let him die."

"And what did you do?"

"To be fair," Tommy interrupts, "that was, like, my fault. Don't pin that one on Wilbur, yeah? I wasn't fast enough," he laughs. "We..you know, Philza, a lot has happened since we left. Did Wilbur tell you about the fucking bitch ass traitor we had to deal with?" Tommy asks, tilting his head to the side. "Come on, Phil, you should walk with me. I can show you around, show you everything that we made!" 

Wilbur laughs, shoving Tommy to the side. "Tubbo's been the one building all of this. He's a really good builder, actually. I didn't expect him to be, but he is. Phil, you think that you could help us out with some of the walls?" Wilbur asks, frowning. "It would be really helpful to have someone with wings helping us build. It'd be less resources used up for us. You don't have to," Wilbur adds on, quickly. "It was just a suggestion, a question, really. I don't mind. I can afford to get some more logs to build scaffolding, it's not a big deal." Phil rolls his eyes, flapping his wings a few times to resettle himself. He stretches out one wing, nearly hitting one of L'manberg's walls in the process. Phil sighs, ducking his head. Of course they didn't plan ahead for him to visit. To be fair, they probably thought he wouldn't come. 

"Will, you know that I'll help out," Phil laughs, folding his wings back. "You should show me around. Tell me the history of all of this, tell me the things you didn't when you were writing to me. I'm interested in your nation."

Tommy scowls. " _Our_ nation," he corrects. "I helped the most. I think I'm the real revolutionary here, Philza. I got us our Independence! I won the war! I did it all, and you know who I beat the literal fucking shit out of?" Tommy pauses, grinning at Wilbur, who grins back at him. "That fucking green bitch! He's got nothin' against me- well," he pauses again, sighing. "Other than the discs. But that's not- that's not as important right now, 'cause I'll get them back!" Phil blinks, frowning a little. He could probably get Tommy's discs back for him, though he's not entirely sure if the so-called "green bitch" is Dream or another green bitch. God, his kids really just don't tell him anything. 

"We'll get them back," Wilbur murmurs, gently squeezing Tommy's shoulder. "But, in the meantime," he looks back up at Phil, beaming. "That's the drug van!" Wilbur laughs, and Phil can't help but sigh, watching as his son throws is arm out in a dramatic arc, motioning to a white van with tinted windows. "That's the reason we went to war, actually. To be fair, it's..a long, very complicated history," Wilbur laughs. "It's really just one big mistake that turned into a war, and now we're here!"

"Did you.." Phil sighs, closing his eyes and pressing his fingers to his temple. "Did you really start a fucking war _just_ because you were upset you couldn't sell drugs?"

" _Do_ drugs," Wilbur corrects. "I was upset I wasn't allowed to _do_ drugs."

Phil stares at his son, wondering where he went wrong as a parent. To be fair, he thinks to himself, he doesn't know what he expected. Even if Wilbur is joking about it, he's definitely not joking about his stubbornness. If someone was trying to stop him from doing something he loved or wanted to do, Wilbur would in no way, shape, or form, listen to them at all. And if starting a war was the only way to end them belittling him, Phil supposes that he'd do it. "For reference, I never dropped you on your head as a child," Phil crosses his arms as they walk, laughing a little when Wilbur looks at him with the most betrayed look in his eyes that Phil's ever seen. "I'm just saying!" He laughs, ducking his head. "This is all on you, Will. You can't blame me for this one." 

"Sure, sure," Wilbur rolls his eyes. "Anyways, drug van," he grins. "That's the L'mantree over there," Wilbur motions to the only tree that Phil can see. "Dream tried to bomb us, and he succeeded at doing that," he murmurs. "That tree was the only one that survived the blasts, and we were lucky enough to be able to get to the river and escape. It wasn't a fun night, but that's sort of when I think that we all realised what we were doing," Wilbur admits. "I-"

"Wilbur went all noble 'nd shit," Tommy snorts. "He told us we were all free to leave after what happened, said he wouldn't make any of us stay after that. Guess what?" Tommy grins. "All of us stayed. Every single one of us, none of us moved. 'Cause, I mean, at that point it wasn't really even about the drug van. It was personal, it was about an actual _war_. It was Dream and his stupid fuckin' idiot friends against us, and guess the fuck what, Phil?" Tommy beams. "We fucking _won._ We won, and that green bitch didn't! L'manberg is ours, and it's free from that son of a bitch's little grabby ass hands!"

Phil laughs, ducking his head to himself as he lets Wilbur and Tommy ramble on and on about their nation, the one that they clearly fought so hard for. He follows them along as they show him L'manberg, listening to the way that they laugh and grin. Phil can see the way nervousness lines their features, but otherwise, they look at ease. They look free, like they've finally finished something, and Phil supposes that they did. He's proud of them, he really is.

"I'm proud of you two," Phil interrupts whatever Tommy was telling him, smiling at the way both of his sons' faces brighten. "You've done really fucking good, and I sort of expected you to come back home and ask for me to solve your problems. But you didn't, and I'm proud. I'd still be proud if you came to me and asked for help, but.." Phil smiles. "You both did really good. I'm proud of you both." 

Wilbur and Tommy grab him for a third hug, and Phil laughs, letting his kids do that. He wraps his wings around them, squeezing them both closer to his chest. 

Visiting was the best thing he could have ever done, he thinks as they stand in the middle of L'manberg, in the middle of a nation that his children fought so hard to get. 

* * *

Phil sits at top of Endlantis, listening to the fish and dolphins and turtles that swim in its waters. It took so fucking long to get them all here, safely, but it was worth it in the end. Phil sighs, watching as they swim, diving down into coral reefs and hiding in the Dragon's bones. He nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears a crow land at his feet, glaring at his companion. One of his companions, at least. "What do you want?" Phil asks, crossing his arms, kicking himself off of the ground. Most of his crows know better than to follow him, especially since he told them _not_ to. "I'm gonna throw you into the fuckin' ocean if you don't-"

"Wilbur," the crow turns his head, his beady eyes staring up at Phil. "He needs your help. He's begging for you to come and see him," the crow pauses, shaking his head a few times, staring down at the ground. "He needs you," the crow looks back up, his eyes tinted with gold. "Phil, he's going to die if you don't go to his world. You promised you'd visit again, but you missed your window. You missed it, and now Wilbur has lost his mind. Phil, you need to see him."

Phil stares at his crow, his heart hammering in his chest. He trusts this crow, he always has. He always speaks to this crow in particular when he needs an answer about something. 

The crows wouldn't lie to him. 

Not about this. Not about anything serious, not about anything to do with his sons. 

"Okay." Phil nods, breathing out. He stands in front of the portal that leads him back to his home, taking a moment to go over all the possibilities in his head. He puts his hands on the portal frame, focusing the energy that it uses to take him back to L'manberg, rather than his home. Phil listens to the buzzing suddenly start to spike, wincing when the power of the portal shoots up, nearly throwing him back. Instead of glowing black and purple like it normally does, a faint, yellow colour emerges from the portal. Phil doesn't hesitate in leaping into the portal, readying his wings to fly if his portal puts him in the sky. Phil feels like he's falling, and-

 _Holy fucking shit_.

Techno has a sword to Tommy's throat. Tubbo's face is half-covered in burns, his green button-up replaced with a suit and a green tie, a red bandana tied around his throat. Tommy has a similar green one tied around his arm, scars littering his throat. 

Wilbur is nowhere in sight. Phil can't see him.

 _Fuck_.

Everyone is shouting and screaming, swords clash together, ringing out into the clearing. L'manberg's walls are gone, replaced with empty fields that lead out into the forests that surround it. There's blood soaking the grass, blood splattered around the entire nation. Tommy has blood trickling down his face, while Techno is fucking drenched in it, blood staining his Netherite armour to the point where it isn't even purple anymore. Phil watches as a crow dives past all of them, going behind a mountain. Phil follows, extending his wings to their full length as he dives past everything happening. 

How the fuck did this all happen?

Phil lands next to his crow, staring at the dirt that sits in front of him. "I wonder if Phil would be proud of me," he stiffens at Wilbur's voice, placing his hand against the dirt. It's not real, it's a decoy. Phil presses a little harder, watching as it caves in, silently hitting the ground. "Too late for-"

"What are you doing?" Phil asks, watching as his son stiffens, standing completely still. 

"I.." Wilbur turns, his arm slowly falling to his side. "Phil?" He blinks. There are bags under his eyes, his hair is a mess, his clothes are burnt and frayed. It isn't his L'manberg uniform, it's something entirely different. A brown cloak with dark patches, sewed together by a novice. "Phil, what are..what are you doing here?" Wilbur asks, blinking at him. "I thought that you weren't..I thought.."

Phil takes a step forwards, folding his wings back so he can fit through the small entrance way. "Wilbur," Phil stands as tall as he can, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. "What is this place? What happened?" Phil can barely even hear the screaming from outside the room, the near-silence too much. "Will. What happened?"

"Well," Wilbur laughs, looking down at his feet. "I..you know the anthem, right? There once was a special place, where men could go to emancipate, you know that lyric? _O_ _nce_. There _once_ was- was a special place," Wilbur murmurs. "Once. That place is gone, Phil. It got ripped out from under me, and if- if _I_ can't have it, then why should anyone else? I think that this place is long gone, Phil. Everything about here, it's..it's wrong, it's bad. I can't let this happen again."

"Will, what are you talking about? I'll stay here," Phil assures him. "I'll fight, I'll help you win whatever you're going against. Wilbur, I-"

"There was a saying, once," Wilbur interrupts. "By a traitor. Are you familiar with that saying, Phil?" Wilbur smiles, and Phil can see tears trailing down his face. "It-" Wilbur laughs, turning back to face the wall. "It was never meant to be."

"Wilbur, _no-!_ " Phil screams, racing forwards. As soon as he sees the wall explode, Phil feels the world slow down. He throws himself in front of the explosion, in front of the flames and the blast, throwing his wings up to shield his son. He grabs Wilbur, wrapping his arms around him as he feels fire burnt his wings, scorching his back. The world flashes before his eyes a second later, and Phil bites down on his lip to suppress a cry of pain. Wilbur shoves him back, surprise singing in his eyes. 

Wilbur looks at him, his eyes filled with tears.

He drops a sword to the ground. Kicks it to Phil. 

"Kill me, Phil," Wilbur whispers. "Kill me! Look at them, _look_ at them!" Wilbur shouts, throwing his arm out, motioning to the crowd of people that stare up at him. Phil watches them all, though they don't look at him for long. They're back to fighting a second later, swords slamming against each other, screaming filling Phil's ears. "They want you to kill me, Phil, so _kill me!_ "

"You're my _son!_ " Phil shouts back, grabbing the sword. He holds it in his hands, watching as Wilbur stares down at it, clearly waiting. "You're my son," Phil repeats, throwing the sword down, listening as the metal hits the ground, tumbling out of the now-open room. "I'm not going to hurt you," Phil shakes his head, taking a step forwards. He wraps his arms around Wilbur, letting his wings spread out a second later. Phil breathes in, nearly crying out in pain from how badly his wings scream at him. "You're my son." 

Phil lifts Wilbur off of the ground as quickly as he can, racing out the front of the room, leaping out of it from where the wall exploded. Phil spreads his wings, soaring up into the sky. Every flap of his wings puts him through crippling agony, every beat of his wings threatening to be the last. Wilbur fights him, he tries to get free, kicking and punching and screaming, but Phil doesn't give in. He tries his best to ignore, it soaring away from L'manberg as fast as he can.

"Will!" Tommy shouts from below them, and Phil spares him a glance. Tommy stares up at him, his eyes shining. " _Wilbur!_ " He screams, and then he's running below Phil, desperately trying to catch up with them.

"Phil, _stop!_ " Wilbur shouts, thrashing out. "Stop! Put me down, let me _die_ , Phil! I don't want to be here, Phil, I don't- I don't deserve- I- I-"

Phil ignores him. 

He ignores the screaming in his head, he ignores Tommy running after them. He ignores the way his wings ache and try to tear themselves apart. He ignores the way his feathers fall off in clumps, he ignores the way that his wings burn. 

Phil ignores himself crying. He doesn't know if it's out of pain or sadness, but he assumes that it's both.

He doesn't know how long he flies for, leaving everything and everyone behind. Phil sees snow, he feels the snowflakes settle in his hair. He slowly starts to crash down into the snow, his wings falling apart and breaking and burning and searing, and..and..

Phil closes his eyes, clutching Wilbur closer to his chest. It's so cold, it's freezing. The burning in his wings don't subside, it only gets worse. The cold bites at his face and his ears, freezing him to the bone. He keeps his wings folded over his son, making sure that Wilbur is warm, trying to make sure he's safe. Phil closes his eyes, letting out a breath of air, watching as it fogs away. 

_"Phil? Phil! Phil, you have to get inside, Phil, come on!"_

_"Tommy, you need to go back, what the hell are you doin' out here?"_

_"Protecting them both from you! If Phil hadn't shown up, you would've have summoned those fucking Withers-"_

_"I did summon them! I did! You need to go back, Tubbo isn't going to be able to handle them all on his own!"_

_"You're a real son of a fucking bitch, Technoblade. I'm not leaving my family behind, not right now. They need me."_

_"Tommy, please, just go back-"_

_"No!"_

He's saved his son. He saved his son, his son is going to be okay. Wilbur is going to be okay.

_"You're going to get hurt if you stay here. Phil needs- they both need peace and space, I don't know what happened, but-"_

_"And I do! I know what happened, Techno, I know what happened! They need me more than ever right now, I'm not going to leave them!"_

_"I'm not goin' to leave them, either, Tommy."_

_"Then I'll be the bigger man here and fucking deal with you. I'm not going to leave my family just because I'm mad at them."_

_"I never said that, I never said I'd do the same."_

_"Good. Come on, Jesus fucking Christ, we need to get them inside. They're both going to freeze to death if we don't."_

_"Tommy."_

_"What?"_

_"They'll be okay."_

_"They fucking better be."_

_"Tommy, grab him by the feet, I'll get him by the arms. His wings, I don't..somethin' is wrong with them, Tommy."_

_"He'll..he'll be okay, he'll be alright. Just..just..let's get him inside."_

That's all that matters.


End file.
